Realm of the Night God

Zhang Li didn't know what Yang Haoran was planning to do, but since Yang Haoran had helped the Zhang family a great deal today, he didn't refuse and dragged his exhausted body to stand in front of Yang Haoran and Xu Meijing.

Yang Haoran casually set up a barrier, enclosing the three of them, including himself, within it.

"If you really want to help the remaining people of the Zhang family, hurry up and take them away from here, find a secluded place to hide, and if possible, change their surname."

Yang Haoran's words were unclear, and Zhang Li thought for a moment before understanding. He didn't speak, only nodding at Yang Haoran.

"There's another question I don't understand, but I'm not sure if I should ask."

Yang Haoran smiled and opened his mouth, and Zhang Li's expression didn't change, immediately responding.

"You can ask whatever you want, and I'll tell you everything."

Seeing Zhang Li's straightforwardness, Yang Haoran didn't hesitate, directly asking the doubts in his heart.

"Have you been protecting the Zhang family all this time?"

For Yang Haoran, whether Zhang Li spoke or not wasn't important; what mattered was that Zhang Li could give him a definite answer. Although Zhang Li didn't speak, he had already given a definite answer.

"Why did you do this?"

Yang Haoran asked the doubts in his heart, and Zhang Li again exposed his grandfather's wrongdoings and then risked his life to protect the Zhang family. This behavior seemed contradictory to Yang Haoran, so he had some doubts.

Of course, he had some guesses, but he didn't know if his guesses were correct, so he confirmed with Zhang Li.

Zhang Li heard this and furrowed his brows, his face filled with doubt, seemingly not understanding why Yang Haoran would ask such a question.

"They may not acknowledge me as a member of the Zhang family, but my father is, and I couldn't just watch the entire Zhang family be exterminated."

Zhang Li's answer made Yang Haoran realize that Zhang Li didn't understand his meaning. Not only did he not dispel the doubts in his heart, but he also added another doubt.

"My point is, why did you risk your life to expose your grandfather, and then risk your life again to protect the Zhang family? Isn't this behavior contradictory?"

Yang Haoran saw that Zhang Li didn't understand his meaning, so he explained clearly.

"I risked my life to expose my grandfather because I didn't want him to continue doing wrong. A person should be upright and honest, and I don't approve of his sinister methods. I risked my life to protect the Zhang family because I didn't want innocent people to lose their lives due to this matter. These two things are fundamentally different, and the way to handle them is definitely different. What's contradictory about that?"

Zhang Li's counterquestion made Yang Haoran pause for a moment.

"I just wanted to stop my grandfather from continuing to do wrong, and it would be better for everyone if he stopped early. But he didn't accept my advice, and in the end, he suffered the consequences, which was his own doing, and no one else's fault."

Zhang Li added another sentence, but his tone revealed a suppressed sadness when he spoke.

The conversation had reached this point, and Yang Haoran couldn't possibly still not understand. Zhang Li didn't support Zhang Changchun's actions, so he wanted to risk his life to stop him. Similarly, he didn't support the avengers' actions, so he risked his life to protect the Zhang family. This content originates from M1VLEMPYR, My Virtual Library Empire.

All of this, ultimately, was due to Zhang Li's personality, and his personality determined his way of doing things.

Regarding Zhang Li's personality, Yang Haoran had a non-committal attitude. Since he had figured out the issue, he didn't continue to dwell on it and instead asked about his second doubt.

"I can see that you have very deep feelings for the Zhang family, and I can also see that you have similar feelings for your grandfather. But there's one thing I don't understand - why don't they acknowledge you as a member of the Zhang family?"

Yang Haoran had originally thought that Zhang Li must have committed some mistake, and that mistake had a significant impact on the Zhang family, which led to Zhang Changchun and other Zhang family members resenting Zhang Li.

However, Zhang Li's previous words made him feel that things might not be as he had imagined. What did it mean that they didn't acknowledge him as a member of the Zhang family, but his father did? Zhang Li's words made him feel that things were not simple.

He didn't want to ask Zhang Li this question, but since they had already reached this point, he might as well ask. If Zhang Li answered, his last doubt would be resolved. If Zhang Li didn't want to answer, he wouldn't continue to ask, as there was no need.

Zhang Li's face didn't show any surprise, as if he had already guessed that Yang Haoran would ask him this question.

However, he looked hesitant, as if he was considering something, and didn't immediately respond.

Yang Haoran saw this and knew that he had touched on a sensitive topic, so he immediately spoke up.

"I'm just asking casually, and if it's not convenient, you don't need to say anything. You don't need to make things difficult for yourself."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Li lightly shook his head and removed the hesitation from his face.

"There's no inconvenience in this matter. It's not a secret, and you can ask any Zhang family member and they'll tell you. The Zhang family doesn't acknowledge me as a member because the blood flowing through my veins is not from the Zhang family. My mother deceived me, deceived my father, and deceived the entire Zhang family. After the truth was revealed, the entire Zhang family, except for my father, no longer accepted me as an outsider. Unfortunately, my father has already passed away, killed by a ghost's hand in the Soul Suppression Tower, without even leaving behind his soul."

As soon as these words were spoken, Yang Haoran's smile slightly froze, and Xu Meijing's eyebrows slightly furrowed. Both of them understood what Zhang Li meant by "deception".

"My father knew long ago that I wasn't his biological son, but he never pointed it out and never rejected me. Instead, he taught me various skills and how to be a person. In my heart, I only have him as my father, and no one else."

Yang Haoran didn't speak, and Xu Meijing naturally wouldn't speak either, since she wasn't familiar with Zhang Li.

"That's why I knew about my grandfather's scheme. It's because my father left behind a will at home, which was placed with the other items he left for me. I accidentally discovered it when I brought back the items my father left for me. After that, I knew about my grandfather's scheme, but by then, you had already set out with my grandfather. I didn't want to see innocent people die, and I didn't want to see my grandfather's scheme succeed, so I immediately went to find you. You know what happened after that."

Zhang Li not only answered Yang Haoran's question but also explained how he knew about Zhang Changchun's scheme. Through this explanation, Yang Haoran's doubts were finally resolved.

With the entire story clear, Yang Haoran didn't ask any more questions. After all, he had asked all the necessary questions, and Zhang Li had not only provided answers but also extra information about the will. He didn't have any more good questions to ask.

Moreover, although Zhang Li didn't show any expression, Yang Haoran knew that he was feeling very uncomfortable. Even if he had more questions, he wouldn't continue to ask.

Reminding Zhang Li to be careful of the avenger's revenge, Yang Haoran and Xu Meijing left the heavily injured Zhang family.

Except for Zhang Li, Yang Haoran didn't intend to contact any other Zhang family members, as he felt it was better not to.

As for whether these people would thank him for his help today or hate him, no one could predict. But since he had decided to let them go, he wouldn't regret it.

After Yang Haoran and Xu Meijing left, Zhang Li, with his heavily injured body, advised the remaining Zhang family members to quickly pack their things and leave the Zhang family.

If this had happened in the past, the Zhang family members would not only have ignored Zhang Li's suggestion but would have also looked at him coldly, and might have even beaten him up.

However, the situation was different now. No one refused Zhang Li's suggestion, and they quickly packed their things under his leadership and left the home they had lived in for many years.

As they left, the entire Zhang family was empty, and the Zhang family, one of the two major exorcist families in Ancheng, ceased to exist from that day on.